


Avatar: A World Without Balance

by jrae7374



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Coming of Age, Fire Nation (Avatar), Firebending & Firebenders, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 03:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19220539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jrae7374/pseuds/jrae7374
Summary: The story of Avatar Aang is widely known, but what happened during the 100 years that he was missing?  Many people braved and fought through the beginning of the Hundred Year War.This is their story.I have ultimately decided that I don't like the direction that this story is going so far, so I will not be posting any more chapters.  Instead, I will try to write the entire story from beginning to end and post it separately so that I am able to go back and revise as a I like.  It will definitely take a long time for me to finish it because I have a lot of ideas, but please look forward to it!





	1. Capital City

Fai awoke to the smell of buns and komodo sausage. He sniffed the air gently and rose from his bed to find his mother in the kitchen. She set a bowl on the table for him. “Eat up, you’ve got a long day ahead dear,” she said to him. And she was right. Today, Fai would travel to Capital City to meet with his new fire bending teacher. Fai had studied alongside his current teacher, Master Li, since he was a child, and it was time for him to move on to the next level of bending.  
Fai had always been a powerful bender. His bending abilities were obvious from a young age, when he accidentally set his own cradle on fire on multiple occasions.. luckily, his mother was always nearby to save him, although it always left her quite shaken up.  
As the years went by, Fai continuously surpassed Master Li’s expectations. He skipped up into the advanced classes very quickly, and he was still able to beat his classmates with ease.  
It seemed that Fai was a prodigy. People across his village had heard of his abilities and many people believed that he could bring fame to his hometown, but he tried not to think much of it. Fai did not see himself as anyone to be made a fuss about.  
Now, at the age of 16, Master Li had told Fai that he was too good to continue training with him—Fai needed to move on to a more knowledgeable and powerful instructor. The news had come as a surprise to Fai.. he was both shocked and excited. He had never thought that he could be just as good as his own instructor, and yet here he was sitting at his kitchen table, about to embark on his journey to Capital City. But Fai would not go alone; his best friend, Xing-fu, was to join him on this journey.  
Xing-fu was also an astoundingly good fire bender. While not quite as good as Fai, he too had risen to the top of their class. Master Li had told Xing-fu to meet their new teacher as well; the two boys were to study together.  
Fai ate his breakfast and his mother came in to sit with him. “Are you excited?” she asked him. He nodded vigorously and swallowed his food.  
“I can’t wait!” She smiled at him.  
“Good. That’s my boy.” Fai smiled back and continued to eat. “Are you sure you have everything you need?” He thought for a second.  
“I think so... and you’re sure you’ll be okay without me here?”  
“Yes, dear, I’ll be fine.” Fai had been raised by his mother alone, and had no siblings, so she was going to be alone when he left.  
“Okay, if you say so,” he said teasingly.  
The journey from Fai and Xing-fu’s village to Capital City would take 6 hours on foot, and unfortunately the boys did not have an animal to take them there. They were to live with their new master until their fire bending training was complete. Fai and his mother sat in comfortable silence for a while. He finished up his food and went back to his room to grab his pack. “I guess I’d better get going, or Xing-fu’s going to wonder where I am!” He ran to his mother and gave her a big hug. She looked down at him with small tears forming, but she blinked them away.  
“Have a good trip, dear. I can’t wait to hear all about it. I know you’re going to learn so much.”  
“It’ll be great.”  
“Stay safe okay, stay in the trails and don’t talk to strangers.”  
“Mom, I kind of have to.”  
“Well, you know what I mean.”  
“Alright, I guess I had better get going. I love you, Mom.”  
“I love you too.” And with that, Fai pushed his way out the front door. As he got further, he turned and waved to his mother who stood in the doorway.  
Fai got to Xing-fu’s house in a matter of minutes. It was chilly outside; spring had just begun, and the mornings were still cold. Fai saw Xing-fu sitting outside his house. He was staring at the ground, but when he heard Fai’s footsteps on the trail he looked up. “Hey! Took you long enough!” He hopped up, ran over to Fai, and put him in a headlock.  
“Hey, I need to look nice y’know!” The boys play fought in front of the house for a bit until Xing-fu’s parents opened the door and greeted Fai. The boys stopped messing around and Fai walked up to them and bowed. Xing-fu’s younger siblings emerged from inside the house.  
“Fai!!” they all screamed. The three children were all pretty young, ranging in age from 3 to 9. The youngest, Ju, wrapped herself around Fai’s leg and refused to let go.  
“Hello” Fai said through giggles.  
Fai had always wished he had a real family. That was one of the things that he envied about Xing-fu; he had grown up in a full, loving household. And while, yes, his mother had raised him well, he always felt like he was missing something.  
“Now, Ju. Don’t do that, they need to get going,” Xing-fu’s mother warned. Ju didn’t let go at first, but after being met with her mother’s stern glare, she slowly let go. Fai laughed at her response and pat her head lovingly.  
“It was good to see you, Mr. and Mrs. Huang!” Fai said as he walked away with Xing-fu beside him. Xing-fu’s parents also waved goodbye, and soon the boys rounded a corner into the forest, unable to see the family anymore.  
“Out in the world on our own, finally,” Xing-fu said.  
“It’s kind of scary,” Fai admitted. “I’m excited, but it also feels sort of strange.”  
“Well, for me it feels like liberation. I’ve been waiting for a chance to get out of our village for so long, and now we finally have one.” Fai thought about this for a moment; he had never particularly felt the need to get away from his home. In fact, he began to question whether he really wanted to leave or not. Master Li, however, has encouraged him to seek out this new instructor, and he trusted him. Fai supposed it made sense that Xing-fu would want out so badly, as he was two years his senior—an adult—and he probably craved his independence.  
“Do you think this master will be nice?” Fai said.  
“I’m not sure..” Xing-fu said, “Master Li made him sound pretty tough.” Fai’s stomach turned. Master Li had always been so understanding, so comforting; he was afraid that this new teacher would not match well with him.  
Fai realized how much he was doubting himself and tried to put his thoughts aside; now was not the time to second-guess things.

***

The journey was long and the boys’ bodies ached when they arrived. They sat and ate their lunch on the outskirts of the city, before going in to locate their new teacher.  
Master Li had given them directions for once they arrived in Capital City; the boys had been there before, but never on their own and not for a few years. They were surprised to find that many homes had the fire nation flag hanging outside, something that they had never seen done before. They pushed through the suburbs and into the heart of the city—that was where their new master lived.  
Fai struggled to read the map that Master Li had given them, but Xing-fu deciphered it easily. Soon, they were standing in front of a large, elegant building with a sign that read “Master Tian’s Fire Bending School.” Fai and Xing-fu looked at each other for a moment, taken aback by the very grandiose feeling that the building gave off, and then Xing-fu pushed the door open. Once inside, they saw that a large class of young children was currently in session; the students were sitting on the floor listening to an older man who was speaking—at least he was until Fai and Xing-fu walked in. Everyone turned to look at the two boys, and they quickly became uncomfortable. Fai panicked. “Um, hi! I’m Fai, and this is Xing-fu.. I believe we’re looking for Master Tian?” The man leading the class said,  
“Yes, that’s me.”  
Fai and Xing-fu weren’t surprised at this information, but now that it was confirmed that this man was their teacher, they felt even more embarrassed. Xing-fu spoke up.  
“It’s good to meet you, Master Tian.” He bowed and Fai did the same. “We apologize for interrupting your class. Would you like us to come back later?”  
“Ah, no, you can join us for now.” The boys looked at the children seated before them—it was a beginners class, but they weren’t about to argue. They took seats on the floor in the back of the large room, and many small faces turned to stare at them for a moment and quickly turn back around. “As I was saying,” Master Tian continued, “self-control is a very, very important part of fire bending. You can ignite a fire, but putting it out can be a struggle. You must be very aware of your abilities, young ones.” Fai began to daydream; he already knew all of the information that Tian was giving, and he was very tired from their journey. Xing-fu, however, held onto every word that Tian said. Sure, it was a beginner’s class, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t learn anything, and a refresher could be nice in any case. Tian continued to speak to the young students. “Tomorrow we will continue our discipline exercises, but today I want us to reflect on what we’ve learned so far...”. This went on for another hour until class was over, and Xing-fu nudged his friend to bring him back to reality. Fai jumped in his spot on the floor at the contact. Master Tian spoke with a few of the young students that stayed after class and then walked over to Fai and Xing-fu. The boys stood quickly and bowed deeply to him.  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Tian,” they said in unison. Tian bowed as well and smiled.  
“The pleasure is mine. I look forward to speaking more with you, but I will show you to your room to get settled first.”  
The two of them followed Master Tian outside to the building next door to the class building. It appeared to be a dormitory for all of the students who had come to train with Tian. The building consisted of a long hallway which ran from each side of the building, with bedrooms on either side. The man showed the boys to their own room, and let them set down their bags. “Let us discuss our learning goals over dinner. You may meet me in my home at sunset; I live in the house on the other side of the lesson building.”  
“Yes, sir,” Xing-fu said. “Thank you very much.”  
“Yes, thank you,” Fai said. The boys bowed again and Tian bowed and left them to themselves.  
The two of them looked around their room. The walls were a deep red color, and there were two cots on either side of the room. There was a single window on the outward facing wall, and there was no door, just some curtains to represent the boundary between their room and the hallway. “Well, this is it Fai! We finally made it,” Xing-fu said. “I can’t believe we’re really here to stay.”  
“It is pretty unbelievable..” Fai said hesitantly. Xing-fu could tell that Fai wasn’t completely happy with their circumstances.  
“Is something wrong?” Fai thought for a second.  
“No, not really.. I’m just not really used to being away from home... and I’m afraid that we won’t fit in.”  
“Are you kidding? Of course we’re going to fit in! And of course you will, you’re the best fire bender I know! Listen, there’s a reason Master Li sent us here; he knows that we’re up to the challenge. If you aren’t comfortable here just yet that’s understandable, but don’t ever doubt that you deserve to be here just like anyone else.” Fai gave Xing-fu a small smile.  
“Alright.. you’re right, Master Li would never send us here if he didn’t think that we were ready.”  
“That’s the spirit. Now let’s start unpacking.. I think we should rest a while before dinner.”  
The boys began to arrange their things. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door frame. A boy about their age pushed the curtain to the side. “Hey there, sorry to interrupt. I saw that you guys are new around here and thought I’d introduce myself. My name is Chen.”  
The boys introduced themselves and bowed. “It’s nice to meet you guys!” Chen said. “Hey, I’ve only been here a month or so myself, but if you need anything just let me know. I’m in the room next door.”  
“Thank you, it’s greatly appreciated,” Fai said.  
“Thank you,” Xing-fu said too.  
“No problem!” And with that, Chen was gone.  
“Looks like we’ve already made a friend!” Fai said excitedly.

***

Xing-fu and Fai had arrived at Master Tian’s house just before sunset. The man had greeted them and led them inside of his large home. The entrance alone was very grand; the walls were a cream color and the floors were made of sleek, black, polished tile. A chandelier hung from the high ceiling. The boys were absolutely astounded. Master Tian took them through a door which led to the dining room, adjacent to the entrance room. “Please, sit wherever you like.” Master Tian took his seat at the end of the table, and Xing-fu and Fai sat next to each other on his left side. The table was very long, and there were many empty seats surrounding them. The table and chairs were old and elegant, there were paintings of people an landscapes on the walls. A servant emerged from seemingly nowhere and places plates and silverware in front of the two boys.  
“May I serve you something to drink?” the man asked. Fai and Xing-fu looked at each other for a moment, unsure what to say, and then Tian spoke.  
“Please brings us some tea, Urzen.”  
“Yes, sir.” The man walked away. The boys sat stiffly in their chairs, as they were still not sure how to act in Master Tian’s presence. The three of them sat uncomfortably for a long while, and then Tian spoke.  
“How have you been liking Capital City?” Xing-fu decided to speak up first.  
“It’s very beautiful,” he said.  
“And very big,” Fai added. Master Tian chuckled happily.  
“Yes, both very true,” he agreed. “I’ve lived in Capital City my whole life... it’s grown a lot over the decades, and that growth has brought with it many good things as well as many bad things..” he said solemnly. “But, I believe that everyone has some good in them after all, don’t you?”  
“Yes,” Fai agreed immediately. Xing-fu nodded yes, but hesitantly.  
“What do you think, Xing-fu?” Master Tian asked.  
“Well...” Xing-fu thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, sir. I want to believe that there is good in everyone, but I suppose that I sometimes have trouble seeing it.”  
“That is understandable,” Tian said. “We all need a little help to find the good in things from time to time.” Xing-fu nodded in agreement. Tian’s servant returned with their tea, bringing several maids with him. The maids brought their dinner to the table. When they lifted the lids off of the trays they bore, the boys were amazed to see roast duck, noodles, and smoked sea slug, all steaming hot. It was then that the two boys realized how hungry they truly were. They practically began to drool at the feast of foods sitting before them, but then, Tian continued and the two of them listened attentively. “I am sure you will find during your time training here you will learn much more than just how to bend fire; that is why Master Li has sent you. You have practically mastered the element in every way physically, but together we can work on more than just that, and I am so glad that I get to be a part of it. Never forget that while yes, I am your teacher, it is just as much an honor for me to watch you grow as it is for you.” Xing-fu and Fai were speechless.  
“Th-Thank you, Master Tian, we are so glad to be here as well,” Fai stammered. He bowed his head and Xing-fu followed suit.  
“There is no need to thank me, truly. It is simply my job as your mentor. That being said, we will begin your training tomorrow bright and early.” Tian looked out at the food set before them and grinned. “But enough talk for now—let’s eat!”


	2. Training Begins

Fai and Xing-fu were woken abruptly. Someone was shaking them awake. Who was it? Fai could not tell. Come to think of it, where was he? He flinched sharply and took in his surroundings. That was right, he was in Capital City now.. and the guy shaking his arm was Chen, the boy who had introduced himself the day before. This morning routine was far different from the soft calls of his mother and the smell of a warm breakfast. He could tell that he was already getting homesick… “Hey guys, it’s almost time for class,” Chen said. “I’d hate for you to be late on your first day.” Fai grunted  
“It’s so… early..” he said.  
“I know, but we gotta get going,” Chen said. He gave up trying to get Fai awake and left the room to get himself dressed.

Fai rolled over to face Xing-fu on his side of the room. He opened his eyes and realized that his friend had already picked himself up off of his bed and was pulling a shirt over his head.  
“How can you wake up so quickly?” Fai whined. “I’m exhausted.”  
“I’m exhausted too, but I really don’t want to miss anything,” Xing-fu said. Fai sighed.  
“You’re right…” He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position with his back against the wall. He rested his head for a moment and then stood up. Xing-fu had already managed to get fully dressed.   
“I’ll wait for you out there, okay?” Xing-fu said.  
“Sure.” Fai slowly got up and searched for clothes to wear.

Xing-fu walked out of their room and into the hallway. There were several other boys--about he and Fai’s age--roaming around quietly in the early morning light. The sun had not yet risen, but its light had begun to pierce over the horizon and wake the world around them.

Xing-fu wandered down the long hallway of rooms and out of the building. The cool, outside air filled his lungs and he looked up at the deep blue sky which was beginning to turn orange just over the buildings and houses around him. He took a moment to sit on the steps leading up to the building. “Hey,” a voice called out to him. He looked to his right at the end of the building where the voice had come from. A young man stood at the very corner of the building, and he began to stroll toward where Xing-fu was sitting. “Heard you’re new around here,” the guy said. “I just wanted to give you a very warm welcome…” he said. Xing-fu did not like the sinister tone in the guy’s voice. He got to his feet. “Something wrong?” the young man said teasingly. Xing-fu considered turning around and going right back inside, but he wasn’t certain whether this guy really wanted trouble or not.. And he also felt a responsibility to himself to stand his ground in the face of this potential danger. The young man finally reached him and extended his hand. “Name’s Jun,” he said. Xing-fu extended his hand slowly.  
“My name’s--” right when the two boys’ hands met, Jun burnt him with his fire bending. Xing-fu yelled out in pain.  
“I know exactly who you are,” the boy said aggressively. Jun swept Xing-fu’s feet out from under him and he hit the ground hard. Xing-fu hopped to his feet and kicked a wave of fire in Jun’s direction. When the fire cleared, however, Xing-fu discovered that Jun had disappeared. He stood there, stunned, tense, and ready to fight for a long moment before moving to open the door and go back inside. Fai was walking down the hallway in his direction. Fai waved happily, now awake, but not speaking so as not to wake the other students who were sleeping. Xing-fu figured that no one must have heard his struggle with the young man just moments before and decided it best not to tell anyone what had happened. He did not want to frighten Fai. And besides, he had only left with a burnt palm and a sore backside. He would be fine. He just wondered why this guy had attacked him in the first place. He said that he knew who he was… It was a bit unsettling, but again Xing-fu thought it best not to say anything for the time being.

Fai gestured to him, signaling that they should head outside. Xing-fu agreed, hoping that that Jun guy would not be anywhere nearby. He stepped back outside and Fai followed. They walked down the steps and out onto the dirt road, making their way just a small distance to the lesson building. “This is so exciting!” Fai said.  
“I know, I can’t believe we’re actually here, studying together.” The thought put some comfort back in Xing-fu’s heart.

Finally they came to the door of the lesson room, pulled the door open, and went inside. A handful of boys were already there, either stretching or talking amongst themselves. One of them was Chen, and he was having a grand time laughing and talking with two of his friends. Fai and Xing-fu looked around; there were not many people there yet. Was this the whole class? Fai counted eight students, including himself and Xing-fu. It seemed like such a small class, but maybe that’s how things were run around here...

Master Tian entered the building through a door at the back of the room. He adorned a long, red, fire nation robe. All of the boys stopped what they were doing immediately and bowed. Master Tian bowed in return. “Please, continue what you were doing.” He made his way around the room to a desk which was near the front door. He pulled a pair of small reading glasses out of his robe pocket and picked up several pieces of paper. He wrote a few things and then sat at the desk. “I’ve got a few business issues to attend to,” he announced, “so please warm yourselves up in the meantime.” Tian returned to his papers.

“Alright you guys, you heard him. Circle up!” Chen said. Xing-fu and Fai were surprised to see their new friend take the lead like that. They joined the circle that the other boys had formed, and Chen called out stretches for them to do together. This went on for about five minutes before Master Tian stood and approached the circle of boys.  
“Thank you, Chen,” he said. “For today’s class, I’d like us to take a step outside.” He gestured for the students to follow him. They all walked outside and Master Tian began to teach. 

“The sun has risen,” he said, and what he said was true: the sun had revealed itself in all its glory over the rooftops. “I’m sure you all know that the sun gives fire benders their power.” The boys all nodded. “Then close your eyes,” Tian ordered. “Feel the power of the sun. The warmth of its rays, the fire it instills deep within.” Xing-fu could feel the warmth of the sun pulse through his veins. “Always remember… fire is your medium, and the sun gives you the energy with which to manipulate that medium. Without the sun, we have no power.” Tian too closed his eyes and absorbed the sun’s energy alongside his students. The eleven of them stood still for a very long time; no one said a thing, no one took their attention off of the sun--such was the maturity of Master Tian’s top class.

Tian continued to guide the class through some breathing exercises. First they breathed in for four seconds, then out for four. Then in for eight, out for eight. This continued, increasing by fours all the way up to sixteen, and then decreasing in length by fours. When Tian felt that they had breathed long enough to zoom in their focus, he addressed them again. “You can all open your eyes now,” he said. “Meditation is an important process for many reasons, but one that you cannot overlook is the breath. Your breath is the only thing that you have from the moment you are born to the moment that you die; if you have control over your breath, you have control over yourself. You must remember this in order to unlock your full potential, not only as fire benders, but as people.”

“Now, some of you have just joined us today, while others have been students of mine for a very long time. But, in case some of you are not aware, this is the first meeting of our master class this year, so I would like all of us to introduce ourselves. We will go around the circle--when it is your turn, please tell us your name, where you are from, and how long you have been training.”

Directly next to Tian was Chen, who took it upon himself to start. “My name is Chen Li, I am from Jang Hui, and I have been training for 16 years.” The next boy introduced himself as well:  
“My name is An Zhao, I am from Capital City, and I have been training for 7 years.” The introductions continued: Chung Liu from Yon Rha’s Village, also training for 7 years; Yao Shang from Fire Fountain City, training for 12 years; Sun Woo from Capital City, training for 8 years. And then, the spotlight was on Fai.  
“My name is Fai, I am from Hira’a Village, and I have been training for 14 years.” And then Xing-fu:  
“My name is Xing-fu, I am from Hira’a Village, and I have been training for 8 years.”

The two boys did not pay attention to the names that came after theirs--they were too relieved to be done talking in front of everyone.

When the last boy finished introducing himself, Master Tian cleared his throat and announced “My name is Liko Tian, I am from Capital City, and I have been training for far too long,” and the old man burst out into laughter. The boys began to laugh as well, and it seemed as though some weight was lifted off their shoulders--everyone had been so serious until that moment.

“Alright, all of you, I know we didn’t do all that much today but I believe we’ve done enough. I would like to ask you all to please spend some time in the sun, and reflect on what the power of the sun feels like to you. I’d like to hear what you all have to say about this next time we meet. I would also like for you all to meditate for at least one hour every day. This is very important! Please do not underestimate the power of meditation. We will not reconvene tomorrow, but the day after--I have some important business to attend to tomorrow. Please enjoy your time here in Capital City. You are dismissed.” And at that, all of the boys went off to do their own things--some returned to the lesson building to practice, some went to their rooms to change, and others decided to start their meditation right there where they were. Fai and Xing-fu debated for a moment about what they should do, and decided to go back to their room to change--it was time to explore the city!


	3. A Day of Surprises

Xing-fu and Fai wanted to explore--and explore they did. On their way out of their room after changing, another student stopped them and exclaimed “Hey! You guys are new right? Did you hear about the party on the second floor tonight?” Xing-fu and Fai looked at each other and both shook their heads.  
“Not a word,” Fai said.  
“You should be there! It’s a great way to meet new people. My name’s Lin, by the way.” She smiled real big at them both.  
“Thanks!” Xing-fu said. “How do we find it?”  
“Oh, you can’t miss it, just go up the stairwell and you’ll be able to follow the crowd.” She then winked for extra effect. “It starts at sundown. I’ll see you then!” She turned on her heels and strutted away.

Xing-fu looked at Fai and noticed that he was blushing as he watched her walk away. “Hey kiddo, got a crush or something?” He nudged him with his elbow. Fai snapped out of it quickly.  
“No! I mean… I’m just excited for the party, y’know?”  
“Yeah excited ‘cause it means you get to see her again.” Xing-fu rose his eyebrows at his friend.  
“Oh my gosh…” Fai said. “You’re so embarrassing…”  
“Oh, I know.” Xing-fu said proudly. “So what do you want to do in town today? Now that we know there’s a party, we should probably look for some clothes don’t you think?” Fai nodded.  
“Sure! I could use some new clothes anyway.”

The boys set out. They weren’t sure where they should go; they just decided to wander for a bit and hope that they found a clothing shop or two. They walked down the street in front of their building and found that there were all sorts of homes, among other buildings like markets and antique shops and stores for “all your firebending needs” according to the sign outside. Finally, they found a small clothing shop on a corner and went inside. There were all sorts of clothes, and they set on trying on their favorites right away. Xing-fu found a full outfit for the party, and Fai left with several new shirts of his own.

“Man,” Fai said, “Shopping is expensive.”  
“You got that right. We’re gonna have to be careful with our spending after this,” Xing-fu said. “Thank goodness they feed us at Tian’s place or else we wouldn’t have even made it this far,” he said with a laugh. Fai laughed along.

The boys continued to meander around the city for a couple of hours--they had a lot of free time on their hands before the party and they didn’t want to spend it all in their room. Of course, they did have to get back so they could finish their meditation for the day, and they didn’t want to miss that. After all, the whole reason they were in Capital City was to train, and what use would it be if they didn’t take it seriously?

Eventually they went back to their room. They got their meditations done and even took some time to practice together--they went to the lesson building and sparred for a while. They each felt pretty productive, and all before dinner! As they ate their last meal of the day, they spoke a bit.

“So what do you think the party will be like?” Fai asked.  
“Hmmm… I have no idea, honestly,” Xing-fu said. “We never really had parties in Hira’a, y’know?” He kind of grinned to himself. “That’s big city life for you, I suppose.” Fai smiled.  
“I think it’ll be great.”  
“Yeah, ‘cause you’ll get to see that girl again,” Xing-fu teased.  
“Hey!” Fai whined. Before he could say much else, Chen leaned in from the table next to them.  
“Hey, I heard you’re talking about a party?” Fai and Xing-fu looked at each other, startled. They weren’t sure if they should say anything to Chen. He must have sensed their worry, because he said “It’s the one upstairs right? Don’t worry guys, I’m co-hosting.” The boys felt some relief.  
“Yeah, some girl named Lin told us about it,” Fai said.  
“Ah, my fellow host. Yeah, Lin’s great. She’ll make it a good time for everybody.”  
“Cool, that’s good to know,” Xing-fu said.  
“Hey Xing-fu, how’d you get that burn on your hand?” Chen asked. Xing-fu looked down at his palm where the mysterious Jun had left a burn earlier that morning.  
“Oh.. I just burned myself, at home, before we left… I was cooking some rice, I felt pretty dumb afterward.”  
“Really?” Fai said. That’s funny, I didn’t notice it.”  
“Yeah…” Xing-fu said. Chen gave him a funny look, humphed, and then turned back to face the people at his table.  
“You ready to go?” Fai asked. Both of their plates were empty.  
“Um… yeah, sure, let’s go.”

***

The boys walked up the stairs of the dormitory excitedly. They had no idea what to expect. Upon reaching the second floor, they saw bunches of people standing in the hallway. They figured that this floor must have been the girls’ floor because there were a lot of decorations and they saw several girls exiting their rooms to watch the excitement that was unfolding at the room that was the center of everyone’s attention at the moment: about halfway down the hall was a congregation of people and standing at the middle of it all was Lin. She shouted to her crowd: “are you ready, guys?!” Cheers came from the crowd. Then Chen appeared at her side.   
“Let’s do this!!” he shouted, and he opened the door for everyone to go in. The large froup of people entered the room. As Xing-fu and Fai approached, Lin caught sight of them and walked up to them.  
“Hey guys! Glad you could make it!” She gave them a big smile.  
“Thanks for inviting us,” Fai said with a blush.  
“Of course! Chen said you two are good guys, and I’d hate to miss out on the chance to meet you both!” She blushed too. It was then that Chen walked up.  
“Hey, what’s up guys?”  
“Oh, just talking,” Xing-fu said. “Lin was just telling us that you mentioned some good things about us, right Fai?” Xing-fu turned to see that Fai and Lin were already talking about something else on their own. Chen smiled.  
“Let’s leave them to talk on their own?” Chen suggested. He had a knowing look on his face--Xing-fu wasn’t the only one who had noticed Fai’s little crush. Chen gestured for him to go inside. Xing-fu followed and saw that this dorm room was much, much larger than his and Fai’s.  
“Woah. This is amazing.” Candles lined the walls, in orbs of glass tinted different colors. There was a kitchen area and a large living room. Xing-fu and Fai’s room was just a room. “How do I get a room like this?” he said jokingly.  
“Only resident assistants get these big rooms. I’m in a room like this too if you ever wanna check it out,” he said.  
“Oh really? I guess I should have figured.”  
“Yep, I got around to running a lot of things around this place from the moment I got here.”  
“Yeah, I can see that.” Just then, someone came up to Chen and started talking to him. Xing-fu didn’t want to keep Chen from talking to his friend, so he decided to leave them be. He wandered around the room a bit; it was crowded, but he eventually found a seat by himself. He wasn’t opposed to people-watching--in fact he liked it quite a bit. Plus, it would give him a chance to learn who some of the people living in the dormitories were like. He must have sat for a long time. He even started to feel his eyes drooping. He was pretty tired from waking up for training early that morning. He sat in the corner yawning and watching all of the people. Then, something interesting happened. Across the room, he saw a very beautiful girl. He watched her for a moment--she was chatting with some friends--and then she turned and saw him. They held eye contact for a moment, and then she sort of blushed and looked away. Xing-fu didn’t know what to think. He had never really talked to girls all that much. Most of the girls in Hira’a were ones he knew from the time he was young, so he never really saw them as anything more than friends. But this girl? She was different. Xing-fu didn’t know why, he just knew. By some chance, their eyes happened to meet again, this time for a split second longer. He knew that he needed to get up and introduce himself. He looked away and tried to compose himself. He had no idea what to say, he realized, but he wanted to talk to her. He summoned the courage to get up. He stood and took one step in her direction, but when he looked up to find her he saw that she was standing right in front of him.  
“Hey,” she said. “Having a good time tonight?”  
“Um- yeah, uh.. It’s pretty great…” he said. “Do you live here?”  
“Well, no, not in this building if that’s what you mean. I live with a couple friends just south of here.”  
“Oh, that’s really cool.”  
“Yeah, so… what’s your name?” she asked him. She looked up at him with the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen.  
“Xing-fu. What’s yours?”  
“I’m Lily. It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled. Xing-fu nodded, and then realized that he didn’t know what to say next. “Well, I’m supposed to leave with some friends now, but… we should meet up sometime.” Xing-fu’s heart raced.  
“Yeah, that would be great,” he said. “I don’t really know many places around here…” he said.  
“Oh, did you just move here?”  
“Yeah, with a friend of mine. We moved in yesterday.”  
“Yesterday! Wow, you’ll have to tell me all about where you’re from! How about… tomorrow at midday? I can meet you here.”  
“Yeah, sure, let’s do that.”  
“Okay. It was nice meeting you, Xing-fu.” She smiled again and turned away. She ran off to her group of friends who were quite obviously watching the whole encounter and kept throwing glances his way. Lily said a few words to them and then gestured for them to leave. Right before she moved out of sight, she threw one more smiling glance in his direction.

Xing-fu’s heart felt like it was beating out of time. He had been in town just over a day and he had already met a girl! It felt so surreal, it seemed, and also exciting. He couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow would be like with her… He suddenly felt that perhaps it was time to leave--that had been enough excitement for him for one day. He decided to find Fai and tell him that he was going back to their room. He scanned the room for any sight of him, and saw that he was sitting at a table with Lin. The two of them were sitting very close and leaning in towards each other, holding on to the other’s every word. Xing-fu reasoned not to disrupt them and instead turned away to leave the room. Just as he got to the doorway, Chen showed up out of nowhere again. “Hey man, leaving already?”  
“Yeah, I’m beat. Sorry.”  
“Hey, that’s alright, I get that. So uh, meet anyone new?” He saw that Chen was looking at him as if he already knew the answer to his question. That gave Xing-fu a funny feeling.  
“Yeah actually, I met a girl.”  
“Oh yeah? What was her name? Maybe I know her.”  
“I don’t remember, actually,” Xing-fu lied. “Maybe if I see her again I’ll find out.”  
“Yeah, for sure. Alright, have a good one.”  
“You too.” And at that, Xing-fu made his way back to their room and quickly went to sleep.


End file.
